To amend sections 1710.01, 1710.02, and 1710.06 of the Revised Code to authorize the creation of a special improvement district to facilitate Lake Erie shoreline improvement.

Section 1.  That sections 1710.01, 1710.02, and 1710.06 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1710.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Special improvement district" means a special improvement district organized under this chapter.

(B) "Church" means a fellowship of believers, congregation, society, corporation, convention, or association that is formed primarily or exclusively for religious purposes and that is not formed for the private profit of any person.

(C) "Church property" means property that is described as being exempt from taxation under division (A)(2) of section 5709.07 of the Revised Code and that the county auditor has entered on the exempt list compiled under section 5713.07 of the Revised Code.

(D) "Municipal executive" means the mayor, city manager, or other chief executive officer of the municipal corporation in which a special improvement district is located.

(E) "Participating political subdivision" means the municipal corporation or township, or each of the municipal corporations or townships, that has territory within the boundaries of a special improvement district created under this chapter.

(F) "Legislative authority of a participating political subdivision" means, with reference to a township, the board of township trustees.

(G) "Public improvement" means the planning, design, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, or alteration of any facility or improvement, including the acquisition of land, for which a special assessment may be levied under Chapter 727. of the Revised Code, and includes any special energy improvement project or shoreline improvement project.

(H) "Public service" means any service that can be provided by a municipal corporation or any service for which a special assessment may be levied under Chapter 727. of the Revised Code.

(I) "Special energy improvement project" means any property, device, structure, or equipment necessary for the acquisition, installation, equipping, and improvement of any real or personal property used for the purpose of creating a solar photovoltaic project, a solar thermal energy project, a geothermal energy project, a customer-generated energy project, or an energy efficiency improvement, whether such real or personal property is publicly or privately owned.

(J) "Existing qualified nonprofit corporation" means a nonprofit corporation that existed before the creation of the corresponding district under this chapter, that is composed of members located within or adjacent to the district, that has established a police department under section 1702.80 of the Revised Code, and that is organized for purposes that include acquisition of real property within an area specified by its articles for the subsequent transfer of such property to its members exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or holding and maintaining and leasing such property; planning for and assisting in the development of its members; providing for the relief of the poor and distressed or underprivileged in the area and adjacent areas; combating community deterioration and lessening the burdens of government; providing or assisting others in providing housing for low- or moderate-income persons; and assisting its members by the provision of public safety and security services, parking facilities, transit service, landscaping, and parks.

(K) "Energy efficiency improvement" means energy efficiency technologies, products, and activities that reduce or support the reduction of energy consumption, allow for the reduction in demand, or support the production of clean, renewable energy and that are or will be permanently fixed to real property.

(L) "Customer-generated energy project" means a wind, biomass, or gasification facility for the production of electricity that meets either of the following requirements:

(1) The facility is designed to have a generating capacity of two hundred fifty kilowatts of electricity or less.

(2) The facility is:

(a) Designed to have a generating capacity of more than two hundred fifty kilowatts of electricity;

(b) Operated in parallel with electric transmission and distribution facilities serving the real property at the site of the customer-generated energy project;

(c) Intended primarily to offset part or all of the facility owner's requirements for electricity at the site of the customer-generated energy project and is located on the facility owner's real property; and

(d) Not producing energy for direct sale by the facility owner to the public.

(M) "Reduction in demand" means a change in customer behavior or a change in customer-owned or operated assets that reduces or has the capability to reduce the demand for electricity as a result of price signals or other incentives.

(N) "Electric distribution utility" and "mercantile customer" have the same meanings as in section 4928.01 of the Revised Code.

(O) "Shoreline improvement project" means acquiring, constructing, installing, equipping, improving, maintaining, or repairing real or tangible personal property necessary or useful for making improvements to abate erosion along the Lake Erie shoreline.

Sec. 1710.02.  (A) A special improvement district may be created within the boundaries of any one municipal corporation, any one township, or any combination of contiguous municipal corporations and townships for the purpose of developing and implementing plans for public improvements and public services that benefit the district. A district may be created by petition of the owners of real property within the proposed district, or by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation. If the district is created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, the purposes for which the district is created may be supplemental to the other purposes for which the corporation is organized. All territory in a special improvement district shall be contiguous; except that the territory in a special improvement district may be noncontiguous if at least one special energy improvement project or shoreline improvement project is designated for each parcel of real property included within the special improvement district. Additional territory may be added to a special improvement district created under this chapter for the purpose of developing and implementing plans for special energy improvement projects or shoreline improvement projects if at least one special energy improvement project or shoreline improvement project, respectively, is designated for each parcel of real property included within such additional territory and the addition of territory is authorized by the initial plan proposed under division (F) of this section or a plan adopted by the board of directors of the special improvement district under section 1710.06 of the Revised Code.

The district shall be governed by the board of trustees of a nonprofit corporation. This board shall be known as the board of directors of the special improvement district. No special improvement district shall include any church property, or property of the federal or state government or a county, township, or municipal corporation, unless the church or the county, township, or municipal corporation specifically requests in writing that the property be included within the district, or unless the church is a member of the existing qualified nonprofit corporation creating the district at the time the district is created. A special improvement district created to implement a shoreline improvement project may include property held by the state in trust for the people. More than one district may be created within a participating political subdivision, but no real property may be included within more than one district unless the owner of the property files a written consent with the clerk of the legislative authority, the township fiscal officer, or the village clerk, as appropriate. The area of each district shall be contiguous; except that the area of a special improvement district may be noncontiguous if all parcels of real property included within such area contain at least one special energy improvement thereon or shoreline improvement.

(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, a district created under this chapter is not a political subdivision. A district created under this chapter shall be considered a public agency under section 102.01 and a public authority under section 4115.03 of the Revised Code. Each member of the board of directors of a district, each member's designee or proxy, and each officer and employee of a district shall be considered a public official or employee under section 102.01 of the Revised Code and a public official and public servant under section 2921.42 of the Revised Code. Districts created under this chapter are not subject to sections 121.81 to 121.83 of the Revised Code. Districts created under this chapter are subject to sections 121.22 and 121.23 of the Revised Code.

(C) Each district created under this chapter shall be considered a political subdivision for purposes of section 4905.34 of the Revised Code.

Membership on the board of directors of the district shall not be considered as holding a public office. Directors and their designees shall be entitled to the immunities provided by Chapter 1702. and to the same immunity as an employee under division (A)(6) of section 2744.03 of the Revised Code, except that directors and their designees shall not be entitled to the indemnification provided in section 2744.07 of the Revised Code unless the director or designee is an employee or official of a participating political subdivision of the district and is acting within the scope of the director's or designee's employment or official responsibilities.

District officers and district members and directors and their designees or proxies shall not be required to file a statement with the Ohio ethics commission under section 102.02 of the Revised Code. All records of the district shall be treated as public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, except that records of organizations contracting with a district shall not be considered to be public records under section 149.43 or section 149.431 of the Revised Code solely by reason of any contract with a district.

(D) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the nonprofit corporation that governs a district shall be organized in the manner described in Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code. Except in the case of a district created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, the corporation's articles of incorporation are required to be approved, as provided in division (E) of this section, by resolution of the legislative authority of each participating political subdivision of the district. A copy of that resolution shall be filed along with the articles of incorporation in the secretary of state's office.

In addition to meeting the requirements for articles of incorporation set forth in Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code, the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit corporation governing a district formed under this chapter shall provide all the following:

(1) The name for the district, which shall include the name of each participating political subdivision of the district;

(2) A description of the territory within the district, which may be all or part of each participating political subdivision. The description shall be specific enough to enable real property owners to determine if their property is located within the district.

(3) A description of the procedure by which the articles of incorporation may be amended. The procedure shall include receiving approval of the amendment, by resolution, from the legislative authority of each participating political subdivision and filing the approved amendment and resolution with the secretary of state.

(4) The reasons for creating the district, plus an explanation of how the district will be conducive to the public health, safety, peace, convenience, and welfare of the district.

(E) The articles of incorporation for a nonprofit corporation governing a district created under this chapter and amendments to them shall be submitted to the municipal executive, if any, and the legislative authority of each municipal corporation or township in which the proposed district is to be located. Except in the case of a district created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, the articles or amendments shall be accompanied by a petition signed either by the owners of at least sixty per cent of the front footage of all real property located in the proposed district that abuts upon any street, alley, public road, place, boulevard, parkway, park entrance, easement, or other existing public improvement within the proposed district, excluding church property or property owned by the state, county, township, municipal, or federal government, unless a church, county, township, or municipal corporation has specifically requested in writing that the property be included in the district, or by the owners of at least seventy-five per cent of the area of all real property located within the proposed district, excluding church property or property owned by the state, county, township, municipal, or federal government, unless a church, county, township, or municipal corporation has specifically requested in writing that the property be included in the district. Pursuant to Section 2o of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution, the petition required under this division may be for the purpose of developing and implementing plans for special energy improvement projects or shoreline improvement projects, and, in such case, is determined to be in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Section 2o of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution. If a special improvement district is being created under this chapter for the purpose of developing and implementing plans for special energy improvement projects or shoreline improvement projects, the petition required under this division shall be signed by one hundred per cent of the owners of the area of all real property located within the proposed special improvement district, at least one special energy improvement project or shoreline improvement project shall be designated for each parcel of real property within the special improvement district, and the special improvement district may include any number of parcels of real property as determined by the legislative authority of each participating political subdivision in which the proposed special improvement district is to be located. For purposes of determining compliance with these requirements, the area of the district, or the front footage and ownership of property, shall be as shown in the most current records available at the county recorder's office and the county engineer's office sixty days prior to the date on which the petition is filed.

Each municipal corporation or township with which the petition is filed has sixty days to approve or disapprove, by resolution, the petition, including the articles of incorporation. In the case of a district created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, each municipal corporation or township has sixty days to approve or disapprove the creation of the district after the corporation submits the articles of incorporation or amendments thereto. This chapter does not prohibit or restrict the rights of municipal corporations under Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution or the right of the municipal legislative authority to impose reasonable conditions in a resolution of approval. The acquisition, installation, equipping, and improvement of a special energy improvement project under this chapter shall not supersede any local zoning, environmental, or similar law or regulation. In addition, all activities associated with a shoreline improvement project that is implemented under this chapter shall comply with all applicable local zoning requirements, all local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations, and all applicable requirements established in Chapter 1506. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it.

(F) Persons proposing creation and operation of the district may propose an initial plan for public services or public improvements that benefit all or any part of the district. Any initial plan shall be submitted as part of the petition proposing creation of the district or, in the case of a district created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, shall be submitted with the articles of incorporation or amendments thereto.

An initial plan may include provisions for the following:

(1) Creation and operation of the district and of the nonprofit corporation to govern the district under this chapter;

(2) Hiring employees and professional services;

(3) Contracting for insurance;

(4) Purchasing or leasing office space and office equipment;

(5) Other actions necessary initially to form, operate, or organize the district and the nonprofit corporation to govern the district;

(6) A plan for public improvements or public services that benefit all or part of the district, which plan shall comply with the requirements of division (A) of section 1710.06 of the Revised Code and may include, but is not limited to, any of the permissive provisions described in the fourth sentence of that division or listed in divisions (A)(1) to (7) of that section;

(7) If the special improvement district is being created under this chapter for the purpose of developing and implementing plans for special energy improvement projects or shoreline improvement projects, provision for the addition of territory to the special improvement district.

After the initial plan is approved by all municipal corporations and townships to which it is submitted for approval and the district is created, each participating subdivision shall levy a special assessment within its boundaries to pay for the costs of the initial plan. The levy shall be for no more than ten years from the date of the approval of the initial plan; except that if the proceeds of the levy are to be used to pay the costs of a special energy improvement project or shoreline improvement project, the levy of a special assessment shall be for no more than thirty years from the date of approval of the initial plan. In the event that additional territory is added to a special improvement district, the special assessment to be levied with respect to such additional territory shall commence not earlier than the date such territory is added and shall be for no more than thirty years from such date. For purposes of levying an assessment for this initial plan, the services or improvements included in the initial plan shall be deemed a special benefit to property owners within the district.

(G) Each nonprofit corporation governing a district under this chapter may do the following:

(1) Exercise all powers of nonprofit corporations granted under Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code that do not conflict with this chapter;

(2) Develop, adopt, revise, implement, and repeal plans for public improvements and public services for all or any part of the district;

(3) Contract with any person, political subdivision as defined in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code, or state agency as defined in section 1.60 of the Revised Code to develop and implement plans for public improvements or public services within the district;

(4) Contract and pay for insurance for the district and for directors, officers, agents, contractors, employees, or members of the district for any consequences of the implementation of any plan adopted by the district or any actions of the district.

The board of directors of a special improvement district may, acting as agent and on behalf of a participating political subdivision, sell, transfer, lease, or convey any special energy improvement project owned by the participating political subdivision upon a determination by the legislative authority thereof that the project is not required to be owned exclusively by the participating political subdivision for its purposes, for uses determined by the legislative authority thereof as those that will promote the welfare of the people of such participating political subdivision; to improve the quality of life and the general and economic well-being of the people of the participating political subdivision; better ensure the public health, safety, and welfare; protect water and other natural resources; provide for the conservation and preservation of natural and open areas and farmlands, including by making urban areas more desirable or suitable for development and revitalization; control, prevent, minimize, clean up, or mediate certain contamination of or pollution from lands in the state and water contamination or pollution; or provide for safe and natural areas and resources. The legislative authority of each participating political subdivision shall specify the consideration for such sale, transfer, lease, or conveyance and any other terms thereof. Any determinations made by a legislative authority of a participating political subdivision under this division shall be conclusive.

Any sale, transfer, lease, or conveyance of a special energy improvement project by a participating political subdivision or the board of directors of the special improvement district may be made without advertising, receipt of bids, or other competitive bidding procedures applicable to the participating political subdivision or the special improvement district under Chapter 153. or 735. or section 1710.11 of the Revised Code or other representative provisions of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1710.06.  (A) The board of directors of a special improvement district may develop and adopt one or more written plans for public improvements or public services that benefit all or any part of the district. Each plan shall set forth the specific public improvements or public services that are to be provided, identify the area in which they will be provided, and specify the method of assessment to be used. Each plan for public improvements or public services shall indicate the period of time the assessments are to be levied for the improvements and services and, if public services are included in the plan, the period of time the services are to remain in effect. Plans for public improvements may include the planning, design, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, or alteration of any public improvements and the acquisition of land for the improvements. Plans for public improvements or public services may also include, but are not limited to, provisions for the following:

(1) Creating and operating the district and the nonprofit corporation under this chapter, including hiring employees and professional services, contracting for insurance, and purchasing or leasing office space and office equipment and other requirements of the district;

(2) Planning, designing, and implementing a public improvements or public services plan, including hiring architectural, engineering, legal, appraisal, insurance, consulting, energy auditing, and planning services, and, for public services, managing, protecting, and maintaining public and private facilities, including public improvements;

(3) Conducting court proceedings to carry out this chapter;

(4) Paying damages resulting from the provision of public improvements or public services and implementing the plans;

(5) Paying the costs of issuing, paying interest on, and redeeming notes and bonds issued for funding public improvements and public services plans;

(6) Sale, lease, lease with an option to purchase, conveyance of other interests in, or other contracts for the acquisition, construction, maintenance, repair, furnishing, equipping, operation, or improvement of any special energy improvement project by the special improvement district, between a participating political subdivision and the special improvement district, and between the special improvement district and any owner of real property in the special improvement district on which a special energy improvement project has been acquired, installed, equipped, or improved; and

(7) Aggregating the renewable energy credits generated by one or more special energy improvement projects within a special improvement district, upon the consent of the owners of the credits and for the purpose of negotiating and completing the sale of such credits.

(B) Once the board of directors of the special improvement district adopts a plan, it shall submit the plan to the legislative authority of each participating political subdivision and the municipal executive of each municipal corporation in which the district is located, if any. The legislative authorities and municipal executives shall review the plan and, within sixty days after receiving it, may submit their comments and recommendations about it to the district. After reviewing these comments and recommendations, the board of directors may amend the plan. It may then submit the plan, amended or otherwise, in the form of a petition to members of the district whose property may be assessed for the plan. Once the petition is signed by those members who own at least sixty per cent of the front footage of property that is to be assessed and that abuts upon a street, alley, public road, place, boulevard, parkway, park entrance, easement, or other public improvement, or those members who own at least seventy-five per cent of the area to be assessed for the improvement or service, the petition may be submitted to each legislative authority for approval. If the special improvement district was created for the purpose of developing and implementing plans for special energy improvement projects or shoreline improvement projects, the petition required under this division shall be signed by one hundred per cent of the owners of the area of all real property located within the area to be assessed for the special energy improvement project or shoreline improvement project.

Each legislative authority shall, by resolution, approve or reject the petition within sixty days after receiving it. If the petition is approved by the legislative authority of each participating political subdivision, the plan contained in the petition shall be effective at the earliest date on which a nonemergency resolution of the legislative authority with the latest effective date may become effective. A plan may not be resubmitted to the legislative authorities and municipal executives more than three times in any twelve-month period.

(C) Each participating political subdivision shall levy, by special assessment upon specially benefited property located within the district, the costs of any public improvements or public services plan contained in a petition approved by the participating political subdivisions under this section or division (F) of section 1710.02 of the Revised Code. The levy shall be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 727. of the Revised Code, except that:

(1) The assessment for each improvements or services plan may be levied by any one or any combination of the methods of assessment listed in section 727.01 of the Revised Code, provided that the assessment is uniformly applied.

(2) For the purpose of levying an assessment, the board of directors may combine one or more improvements or services plans or parts of plans and levy a single assessment against specially benefited property.

(3) For purposes of special assessments levied by a township pursuant to this chapter, references in Chapter 727. of the Revised Code to the municipal corporation shall be deemed to refer to the township, and references to the legislative authority of the municipal corporation shall be deemed to refer to the board of township trustees.

Church property or property owned by a political subdivision, including any participating political subdivision in which a special improvement district is located, shall be included in and be subject to special assessments made pursuant to a plan adopted under this section or division (F) of section 1710.02 of the Revised Code, if the church or political subdivision has specifically requested in writing that its property be included within the special improvement district and the church or political subdivision is a member of the district or, in the case of a district created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, if the church is a member of the corporation.

(D) All rights and privileges of property owners who are assessed under Chapter 727. of the Revised Code shall be granted to property owners assessed under this chapter, including those rights and privileges specified in sections 727.15 to 727.17 and 727.18 to 727.22 of the Revised Code and the right to notice of the resolution of necessity and the filing of the estimated assessment under section 727.13 of the Revised Code. Property owners assessed for public services under this chapter shall have the same rights and privileges as property owners assessed for public improvements under this chapter.

Section 2.  That existing sections 1710.01, 1710.02, and 1710.06 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.